Correspondence
Correspondence ARTIST'S BLOCK BRAVO MICHAEL LONG! I am 58 years old, and for 40 of those years I have waited in vain for someone to point out that Emperor Herblock has no clothes, at least none...
...We recall that he was well established in his artistic field before Richard Nixon became vice president to Eisenhower in 1953...
...Of course, not interfering in the economy is the right thing for government to do, and it worked...
...Cartoons Without Humor," Nov...
...Great ideas were discussed...
...This is not senseless violence— it is clearly premeditated and carefully targeted even though the victim is not known by the criminal...
...JAMES FARR Bethesda, MD MICHAEL LONG EXPRESSED everything I've thought for many years about Herblock, although he said it much better...
...I am 58 years old, and for 40 of those years I have waited in vain for someone to point out that Emperor Herblock has no clothes, at least none that are funny...
...Many argue there are already enough laws...
...This is also true of the military, which Clinton allowed to decline to its current state: too many missions and too few resources...
...Just as important, he has botched our relationships with Russia and China, which were promising when he entered office...
...Moreover, the stage was perfectly set with a Democratic president, a Republican Congress, and budget surpluses...
...MIKE LION McLean, VA LOVING HATE-CRIME LAW THE GENERAL RESISTANCE on the part of conservatives to enacting hate-crime laws is unfortunate (Jackson Toby, "Hate-Crime Laws: What's Not to Like," Oct...
...In Katherine Graham's bio, she rejoiced about her good fortune in having Block's services at the Post, and I remember thinking, she must not enjoy laughing during breakfast...
...Then-attorney general John Mitchell had told reporters, with respect to some situation about which my memory fails me, "The danger is that citizens might resort to vigilante tactics...
...He has expended no political capital to effect anything positive for the country...
...perhaps not to the level of conclusiveness we all might have wished, but I can guarantee they were discussed with just enough detail to offer hope for the future, a clear distinction between the combatants, and a working list of issues to be attacked by energetic and intelligent men and women of good conscience and honor...
...Herblock can't even make some of the people laugh some of the time...
...Social Security and Medicare were the two key entitlement issues, and cried out for reform...
...Conservative vigilance would ensure a carefully crafted law...
...JOHN R. CASSIDY Plantation, FL MICHAEL LONG COMES UP SHORT in his appraisal of Herblock...
...Thus, the idea that "dead is dead" is a bit of unneeded sophistry...
...Only preexisting hateful behavior should be evidence that such a compound crime has been committed...
...A hate-crime law sends a clear message that all Americans expressly reject intimidation or vengeance...
...The first half of his article is a complaint that the cartoonist doesn't cut his cloth to the current fashion in political cartooning...
...Long should recognize a kindred spirit, but this time he errs...
...But we see in practice that prosecutors are often prepared to plea bargain for reduced sentences without noting that the criminal demonstrated by his actions his intent to intimidate or persecute...
...The reason, of course: Block actually takes himself seriously, and mistakenly thinks others do also...
...A huge opportunity to go down in history with a positive reputation, blown for lack of leadership...
...The inescapable conclusion: Clinton has been a "do-nothing" president, at least in his second term...
...As to original and critical thinking and new ideas—where, before this campaign summarized the efforts of Republicans since 1994, did you hear of school choice on a grand scale, personal investment of part of people's Social Security payments, a tax refund treated as a return of overpayments, cracks in the monolithic 'diversity' culture, answers for the environmentalist wackos and junk scientists spoken with real courage and viable and cogent counter arguments, and, most important, a vigorous and outspoken defense of conservative thought...
...The second, which reads like a smear, says that Herblock knows only one political stance, that of the smearer...
...PAUL KUNINO LYNCH Kings Cross, Australia JUST A QUICK NOTE of profuse thanks for Michael Long's wonderful exposure of a huge fraud—one of our culture's reigning mediocre artists...
...And futurists are not easily comprehended, even by their peers, much less by enough of the electorate to assure victory...
...Although such existing or proposed legislation tends to be vague and poorly worded, the public policy is sound...
...Late in his term, Clinton tried to make a mark in foreign policy, but there is no success to point to, and his Middle East policy is in shambles...
...And since when have legislators gotten it right the first time...
...Nor need there be a fear of approaching the slippery slope that leads to a police state...
...Morale is low, and officers and men are leaving in droves...
...But as a visibly Orthodox Jew, I have seen the potential violation of my basic rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness...
...For the first time in my long life, I no longer feel alone in my beliefs...
...I picture a man secure in his riches, happy to toe the company line with nary a creative spark to be seen...
...NATHANIEL SEGAL Northbrook, IL...
...But it requires no leadership, except in a recession...
...PHILIP TATLER Falmouth, VA WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA...
...Here again, his "message" was not in the cleverness of the drawing but in big capital letters above Mitchell's head—confirmation that Herbert Block was as unacceptable a political cartoonist 30 years ago as he is now...
...Clinton did the same thing on reforming Medicare, when he failed to act on the recommendations of the bipartisan Breaux Commission...
...I try to avoid him like the plague every day, and am often puzzled by his longevity...
...As Treasury secretary Lawrence Summers has said in recent interviews, the administration's contribution was mainly "limiting government to necessary functions, like support for basic research and building the legal infrastructure...
...The added dimension of a hate crime is to intimidate a group of people or to seek vengeance against a group by choosing a random victim...
...Isn't this the reason his poll numbers on job performance remain high...
...I suspect that a knee-jerk conservative has never been the target of a hate crime...
...But in his cartoon, Herblock quoted Mitchell as having said, "citizens might have to resort to vigilante tactics...
...On October 22, 1970, I wrote a letter to the Washington Post protesting a blatant lie Herblock told in a cartoon...
...Conservative opposition or abdication would grant liberals free reign to wreak havoc...
...That's a lot for a lot of us—win or lose in Florida...
...While capital punishment is a special exception, first degree capital charges are often reduced to avoid the maximum penalty...
...The same thing is true of the economy, about which the Clinton administration brags so much...
...In other words, stand aside and let Alan Greenspan do his job...
...Thus, Clinton is likely to be remembered mostly for his personal scandals and for the corruption and lawlessness of the agencies under his control...
...There are, after all, limits to how far any of us can see into the future—espe-cially when we try to predict the end result of all our plans...
...And we see little to deplore in his practice of labeling elements in his cartoons...
...The Post quoted him correctly in a news story...
...I MUST RESPECTFULLY DISAGREE with William Kristol's rather long-faced evaluation of the pertinence and specificity of the recent campaign ("The Next Administration," Nov...
...There need not be any muzzling of free speech by such a law...
...Many thoughtful, compassionate conservatives can commiserate...
...CHUCK LIVINGSTON Fort Worth, TX A LEGACY OF LETHARGY FRED BARNES HAS PROVIDED another key piece of the pattern with his report on how Clinton ducked leadership on the issue of reforming Social Security ("Why There's No Clinton Legacy," Nov...
...Many of us know Herblock as a man whose work shows much sensible concern with non-partisan issues...
...A good law would call attention to the added dimension of intimidation in certain criminal acts and seek to prevent the justice system from missing this aggravating factor...
...and it doesn't mention Herblock's good draftsmanship...
...But I did beat him to it...
Vol. 6 • November 2000 • No. 11
